Combination line reel and line anchoring device



June 18, 1963 LE ROY D. SEARLES COMBINATION LINE REEL AND LINE ANCHORING DEVICE Filed Oct. 17, 1960 vl ml M q-l 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 LEROY D. SEARLES INVENTOR.

BY M W 477') J1me 1963 LE ROY D. SEARLES 3, 7

COMBINATION LINE REEL AND LINE ANCHORING DEVICE Filed Oct. 1'7, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 S 5 m. T y 9 R 1 "m 1 mm "v E 4 ,\4 N a SE llll t a F V m x Y o m H mm L United States Patent 3,093,907 COMBINATION LINE REEL AND LINE AN CHORING DEVICE Le Roy D. Searles, P.0. Box 409, La Grande, Oreg. Filed Oct. 17, 1960, Ser. No. 63,126 2 Claims. (Cl. 33-85) This invention relates to improvements in a composite tool for anchoring guide lines to building walls under construction, such as walls made of brick, concrete blocks, and also adapted for use with wood framing, laying out foundations, piers, columns, concrete forms, and many other structures where the use of a taut line is necessary for guiding the laying out of bricks, blocks, or other structural material in parallel courses.

One of the principal objects of my invention is to provide a tool of the character described, embodying a reeled line carried by one unit and payable, therefrom, through an automatic line-locking means to a point of securement on a companion unit, and wherein the pull on the line will firmly engage both units with the corners of a wall, or similar structure being dealt with.

Another object of the invention is the provis on of a tool of this character which is of simple, efficient, durable, and inexpensive construction, positive and accurate in operation, and one that can be effectively used along-the face of a wall or similar structure, across the top thereof, or it may be effectively used with a plumb line.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fululy hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a building wall which may be made of brick, concrete blocks, or the like, and showing the composite tool of my invention operatively attached to thetwo front corners of the wall.

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of FIGURE 1. FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of a concrete block wall showing the tool of this invention operatively applied to the top surface of the wall. 6

FIGURE 4 is a side elevational view on an enlarged scale of a typical slide arm.

FIGURE 5 is a top planv-iew on an enlarged scale of a reel housing and slide arm holding unit with fragments broken away for convenience of illustration.

FIGURE 6 is a side elevational view of FIGURE with fragments similarly broken away.

FIGURE 7 is a top plan view of a holding unit for cooperation with the companion slide arm holder of FIGURE 5.

FIGURE 8 is a side elevational view of FIGURE 7.

FIGURE 9 is a sectional end elevational view taken approximately along the line 9-9 of FIGURE 7.

FIGURE 10 is a sectional elevation view taken approximately along the line 10-10* of FIGURE 3, on an enlarged scale.

FIGURE 11 is a sectional elevational detail view taken approximately along the line 11-11 of FIGURE 6 with a slide bar added thereto.

With continuing reference to the drawings wherein like reference characters designate like parts and particularly FIGURES l and 2 thereof, reference numeral 1 indicates generally a brick building wall wherein the bricks are laid in courses, one at a time as indicated at 2, 3, and 4 from one corner of the wall as at 5 to the other corner 6 thereof.

The line holding unit shown attached to the corner 5 in FIGURE 1 and as detailed in FIGURES 5 and 6 comprises a two-piece housing indicated generally at 10 made up of a bottom half 11 and a top half 12, secured together by screws 13. Both halves of the housing converge 3,093,907 Patented June 18, 1963 from a cylindrical portion '14 to an extended portion 15. A reel 16 disposed within the circular portion 14 of the housing is rotatable about aligned bearings 20 and 21 integrated respectively with the inside top and bottom walls 22 and 23 of the circular portion 14 of the housing. The reel is attached by a squared opening 24 in its hub 24A to a squared portion 25 of a hollow shaft 25A rotatable within the bearings 20 and 21 and provided with an internally threaded extension 26 journaled as at 27 in the bottom wall of the bottom half 11 of the housing 10 and provided with a screw 28 to hold the hollow shaft 25A within its bearings.

The top end of the hollow shaft 25A is secured to or integrated with a circular plate 29 rotatable within a recess 30 in the top wall 22 of the housing and provided with a collapsible finger grip 3-1 hingedly attached as at 32 to the plate 29 and adapted to be swung from the collapsed, inoperative position shown to an extended position for rotating the plate 29 and hence reel 16.

Aline 35 is coiled about the reel and payable therefrom about a forwardly and rearwardly flanged line-locking wedge device 36 of triangular shape in plan view, as shown in FIGURE 5, and provided with a finger grip 67 extended upwardly through an elongated slot 38 in the top wall 22 of the housing. The locking device 36 is slidable upon a platform 39 within the housing and toward and away from two outwardly converging walls 40 and 41.

Frornthe foregoing it will be readily apparent that when the triangular locking-device 36 is being held in the position shown in FIGURE 6 by the thumb of an operator and with the line loosely encircling the locking device, the

line can be freely withdrawn from the housing 10 through an opening 41 in an end wall 42 of the housing, then downwardly through a hook member '43 integrated with, or secured to the end wall 42. Upon release of the finger grip 37 the pull on the line will cause the locking device to automatically wedge the line around its sides against the walls 40 and 41.

The bottom wall of the housing 10 is provided with two brackets 45, rubber-faced as at 46 and thereby adapted to cling to the corner of a wall when tension is applied to the line 35 with its outer end secured as at 49, to the companion holding unit indicated generally at 50. This holding unit 50 comprises a main body member 51 provided with two brackets, 52 and 53, rubber-faced as at 54 and thereby adapted for firm engagement with its resepective corner 6 of the building wall 1.

As best illustrated in FIGURES 6, l0, and 11 the bottom wall of the bottom half of the housing 10 is provided with parallel tracks 56 and 57 to receive a slide bar 58 grooved along both of its sides throughout its length as at 59 for engagement with the tracks and transversally notched (see FIGURE 4) at spaced intervals as at 60 throughout its length to selectively receive when used with the reel housing 10 a detent 62, urged downwardly by the reach of a spring 63 whose inner end is coiled about a pin 64 secured to suitable brackets 65 extending upwardly from the bottom wall 23 of the bottom half of the housing 10.

The main body of the companion holding unit 50 is also provided with parallel tracks and 71 to accommodate another of the slide bars 58 whose notches 60 are adapted to selectively receive a detent 72 integrated with a stem 73 disposed within a cylindrical housing 74 and provided with a finger grip 75. The detent is slidable vertically relative to the housing by means of notches 75A in the side-Walls of the housing. A coil spring 76 surrounds the pin 73 with its bottom end bearing against the detent 72 and its top end bearing against the closed top end 77 of the housing 74. Accordingly both slide arms may be locked in any extended position relative to their respective holding devices when it is desired to use the tool along the top of a concrete block wall, or similar structure as shown in FIGURE 3. When so used, the line 35 extends from the reel within the housing 10 outwardly along the slide arm 58, through a notch 80 in the outer end thereof, around an annular groove 81 in a pin 82 depending from the underside of the outer end of the slide 'arm, then along the building wall, around the corresponding pin 82 of the slide arm in the holding device 50, then through notch 80' and terminating in secure engagement with the opening 49 in the forward end of the body of the holding device 50. When tension is applied to the line 35 so held by both holding units it will cause the units to cant toward each other as shown in FIGURE 3 wherein their respective rubber-faced brackets will engage one side of the wall while the pins 82 will be pulled into binding engager'nent with the opposite side of the wall.

The operation of the invention is as follows:

In applying the line 35 to the wall, as shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, the unit 50 is placed with its body member and rubber-faced brackets 52- againstone corner of the wall and is so held by the tension on the line reacting against its frictional encircling portionabout the triangularlocking device 36 wherein the amount of friction is controlled through manipulation of the device relative to the walls 40 and 41 by the thumb of one hand of" an operator ashe moves the unit 10 toward the opposite corner 5' of the wall. In the final approach to that corner full release of the locking device and thus subjecting it to the pull of the line will lock the line against the wedging, walls 40 and 41 causing a stretch in the line as the'unit is finally hooked into engagement with the corner 5; The resultant sustained tension between the holding units :10 and 50 will hold them in secure engagement with the corners or with the top of any wall structure as, shown respectively in FIGURES 1 and 2 and in FIGURE 3.

From the foregoingit will be readily understood that the line from the line-holding unit 10 can be effectively used as a plurnbline with the unit clinging by its rubberfaced brackets 45 to the top of a wall and so held by the weight of the plumb bob on the line suspended from the unit.

It will also be apparent that I have provided a composite tool. whose cooperating line holders Which may be made of molded plastic or of suitable die-cast material, are small and compact, convenient and easy to use; which will, automatically hold themselves securely in place against the corners or across the top of building walls and can be quickly, conveniently, and accurately advancedv from one level to the next as the building of the wall progresses.

While I have shown a particular form of embodiment of my. invention, Lam aware that many minor changes therein will readily suggest themselves to others skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Having thus described my invention what I. claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1 A composite tool comprised of a first unit and second unit for anchoring a guide line to building walls under construction, said first unit comprising a reel housing, a freely rotatable reel disposed within the housing, frictional line-locking means disposed within the housing, a guide line coiled about the reel and payable from the housing through said locking means, means carried by the housing for engagement with one end of a wall, said second unit provided with means for engagement with an opposite end of the wall and fixedly secured to the free end of said line, said frictional locking means comprising cooperating wedge members, one movable toward and awayfrom the other with said line coiled about said movable member, whereby. tension on the line in one direction will 'wedgingly engage said wedge members to lock the line between. them and whereby movement of said movable Wedge member in an opposite direction will free the line to be reeled into or payed out from said reel housing, and whereby tension on the guide line between. said locking means and said second unit will maintain both of said units in firm engagement with their respective wall ends.

2. A reel housing, a freely rotatable reel disposed within the housing, one wall of the housing having an opening therein, line-locking means disposedzwithin the housing adjacent said opening, a guide line coiled about the red and payable from the housing through said locking meansand said opening, said line-locking means comprising two converging wall members and a wedge member movable lengthwise between said wall members with said line coiled about said movable member, whereby tension on the line in one direction will wedgingly engage said wedge member with said walls to lock the line and whereby movement of said movable wedge member in an opposite direction will free the line to be reeled into or payed out from said reel housing.

ReferencesgCited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,503,526 Thompson Apr. 11, 1950 2,530,121 Garwood Nov. 14, 1950 2,549,098 Joseph Apr. 17, 1951 2,647,321 Hart et a1. Aug. 4, 1953 2,723,457 Wosilewski Nov. 15, 1955 

1. A COMPOSITE TOOL COMPRISED OF A FIRST UNIT AND SECOND UNIT FOR ANCHORING A GUIDE LINE TO BUILDING WALLS UNDER CONSTRUCTION, SAID FIRST UNIT COMPRISING A REEL HOUSING, A FREELY ROTATABLE REEL DISPOSED WITHIN THE HOUSING FRICTIONAL LINE-LOCKING MEANS DISPOSED WITHIN THE HOUSING, A GUIDE LINE COILED ABOUT THE REEL AND PAYABLE FROM THE HOUSING THROUGH SAID LOCKING MEANS, MEANS CARRIED BY THE HOUSING FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH ONE NED OF A WALL, SAID SECOND UNIT PROVIDED WITH MEANS FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH AN OPPOSITE END OF THE WALL AND FIXEDLY SECURED TO THE FREE END OF SAID LINE, SAID FRICTIONAL LOCKING MEANS COMPRISING COOPERATING WEDGE MEMBERS, ONE MOVABLE TOWARD AND AWAY FROM THE OTHER WITH SAID LINE COILED ABOUT SAID MOVABLE MEMBER, WHEREBY TENSION ON THE LINE IN ONE DIRECTION WILL WEDGINGLY ENGAGE SAID WEDGE MEMBERS TO LOCK THE LINE BETWEEN THEM AND WHEREBY MOVEMENT OF SAID MOVABLE WEDGE MEMBER IN AN OPPOSITE DIRECTION WILL FREE THE LINE TO BE REELED INTO OR PAYED OUT FROM SAID REEL HOUSING, AND WHEREBY TENSION ON THE GUIDE LINE BETWEEN SAID LOCKING MEANS AND SAID SECOND UNIT WILL MAINTAIN BOTH OF SAID UNITS IN FIRM ENGAGEMENT WITH THEIR RESPECTIVE WALL ENDS. 